Harry Potter and the Mystery of the Priestess
by Jia
Summary: When Death Eater activity increases during the trio's sixth year, they are sent to unplottable locations to train for the inevitable fight. Now their training is complete: Join our three heroes for their 7th year and the adventure that awaits them...


A.N.: Well, here is a story that hit me literally out of nowhere. This is an idea that I have not seen as of yet (at least, not done in this particular style) which I thought would be an interesting idea for a fic. Although this is the first chapter of a multi-chaptered fic in its own right, I will more than likely go back and write a whole other fic dealing with the trio's special training. That story, however, will be mostly if not completely focussed on Hermione's training, as hers is the one I have given the most thought to plot-wise. Feedback is greatly appreciated (either through reviews or you can email me... my address is in the author info page...) and I hope you enjoy the fic!  
  
Disclaimer: Harry, Hermione, Ron, Dumbledore, and Snape do not belong to me, nor do any other characters or places from the cannon Harry Potter series. They belong to the genius J.K. Rowling. I must credit Marion Zimmer Bradley's wonderful The Mists of Avalon for my ideas on priestess training and the gear the priestesses use. (If you have lots of free time and don't mind reading an almost 900 page novel, I highly suggest this one to you...) I do, however, lay claim to the character of Bláithin (who came completely from my own twisted imagination.)  
  
_July thirty-first_, Hermione thought as she sat atop her favourite spot above the lake behind her country manor house. _Finally! I get to see Harry today, after three months apart._ She suddenly became lost in memories of the end of her, Ron, and Harry's sixth year. It certainly was not a normal year, by any means of discussion. Albeit, being a close friend of Harry Potter was almost a guarantee that your life would not be normal, even from a wizarding standpoint; but their last year had been even stranger than their last five had been.  
  
Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, had unexpectedly interrupted the sixth year N.E.W.T. level Potions class in mid-April and, much to Professor Snape's extreme displeasure, asked if he could possibly borrow Harry, Hermione, and Ron for a moment, if it would not cause a great disruption to their learning. Professor Snape had grudgingly complied, sending the three Gryffindors in question out to talk with the Headmaster. To their great surprise, Headmaster Dumbledore had informed them that, due to the ever-increasing Death Eater activity (and the little detail that these three sixth years were currently topping Voldemort's 'People to Kill' list), they would be sent to strategic, warded, unplottable locations for extra training, and would miss the traditional end-of-the-year Hogwarts exams.  
  
Hermione had, of course, been horrified at the prospect of missing over two months of classes and exams, but had been assured by Headmaster Dumbledore that she would be continuing her normal course load at the new and much more protected location; that it had just been slightly modified and new subjects had been added to better prepare the three for the inevitable encounter with Voldemort. They had agreed, at the time not knowing that Dumbledore was sending them to different strategic, warded, unplottable locations.  
  
She had spent the next three months in complete seclusion. Hermione saw no one but her new teacher, a rather energetic young Celtic woman known as Bláithin. '_Honestly, she cannot be much older than I am; perhaps twenty at most..._' Hermione had written in her magical diary the first night in her new home. Much to her delight, Hermione had discovered that she had been sent to the mythical Isle of Avalon to train in many of the hidden arts of the Isle. Bláithin had first begun by informing Hermione that she would be learning, in addition to the continuance of her Hogwarts workload, wandless magic, Avalonian Herblore (which was drastically different from the Herbology lessons offered at Hogwarts), meditation, Occlumency, levitation ("No, not the tricky sort Muggles take to," Bláithin had explained upon seeing the look on Hermione's face. "Real levitation; amazingly easy to learn for most and incredibly useful. Given your potential, I expect that not only will you grasp the ability quickly, but you will quite possibly be able to fly as well."), and the ancient art of summoning the elements. Not surprisingly, Hermione did indeed grasp the concepts extremely easily, and ended up surpassing even Dumbledore's expectations of her, which had been high to begin with.  
  
When the time came for Hermione, or 'Aislynne', as Bláithin had dubbed her during the second day of her stay on the Isle, saying she, "Might as well have a Celtic name as well; you are spending quite a bit of time here, after all" to leave the Isle, Hermione found herself quite unwilling to leave. She had enjoyed her stay on the Isle quite a bit more than she had expected to, and had become rather attached to her new friend. Bláithin had promised to visit her after her departure, and had presented Hermione with the traditional silver sickle knife, crescent moon pendant, and dark blue silken robes presented to Priestess initiates, much to Hermione's great surprise. Bláithin had explained to her that she had actually undergone the priestess training required of Avalonian maidens in mere months (which normally took even accomplished sorceresses ten years at the bare minimum) and was "Just as deserving as any to receive such gifts from the Lady of the Lake."  
  
Upon hearing this proclamation, Hermione felt as if she was going to pass out; she had had no knowledge what-so-ever of Bláithin being the Lady of the Lake! Regaining hold over her emotions and her body as her priestess training had taught her, she accepted her priestess possessions (fastening the pendant around her neck and hanging the sickle knife off of her belt as she'd seen the other priestess-initiates do) and hugged her mentor goodbye. Hermione walked slowly to the edge of the Lake, taking one last look at the beauty of the Isle of Avalon. Opening her arms wide, Hermione spoke the word of power and summoned the Barge that would take her away from the entrancing shores of Avalon and back into the other world; called by some the 'Only real world that exists', but Hermione now knew better. She had experienced something amazing throughout the last three months; she had found a new home... and she knew that she would miss Avalon like no other place, even her childhood manor home where she had spent all of her time before Hogwarts. She had a place with these priestesses, she knew- somewhere she could return to if the outside world ever became too much and she needed the council of her fellow Sisters... And she had a feeling that, someday, Bláithin hoped for her to become the Lady of the Lake after her time was through.


End file.
